Online Meeting Tools

Tools such as Google Hangouts, Collaborate Ultra, and Zoom have seen increased usage during the COVID-19 pandemic as people are practicing social distancing. Some universities have moved all classes online for the time being and professors are using these tools in order to connect with students from their homes. I’ve been using Zoom to connect to live sessions for a few of my classes at ODU, this way we are still able to meet during our scheduled meeting times. Zoom allows for professors to share their screen in order to provide students with important information, as well as being able to address students with a microphone and webcam. Students are also able to chime in with their own microphones and webcams in order to ask questions and communicate with one another. I believe that these tools are very important in the digital age, as it makes it easy to communicate with our peers from anywhere in the world as long as there is an internet connection. Making use of these tools allows for us to help slow the spread of infectious diseases and continue learning from the comfort of our own homes.

Wikimedia?

I had no idea that there were so many open knowledge projects associated with Wikipedia. Wikimedia also hosts various other projects regarding references, collections, technology, guides, and collaboration including:

• Wikibooks
• Wiktionary
• Wikiquote
• Wikimedia Commons
• Wikisource
• Wikiversity
• Wikispecies
• Wikidata
• MediaWiki
• Wikivoyage
• Wikinews
• Meta-Wiki

I believe that many people will find these projects are full of useful information, and I can definitely see myself browsing through them in the future.

Twitter as a resource?

I browsed the #ODU content on Twitter without creating an account and I was information regarding the new opening “Monarch Court” space in the Webb Center. I also saw posts from students who were promoting their hair services, basketball game results, and other ODU related information. I believe that Twitter can be a useful tool for gathering information about campus life and networking with other students.

Why I don’t use Facebook…

I don’t really use any social media. I have a Facebook account, but I do not login to it. The page is basically just for my mom, so she can tag me in photos she posts. I think that there may be benefits to having a professional social media page for networking, but I do not post on any social media platforms at the moment.

Diverse Emojis?

I don’t have an issue with diversity options online. I don’t think most people put too much thought into their usage of emojis and what skin colors they should use. If users want to use the diverse emojis they have that option, or they can just use the original default yellow emojis.

Accessibility on the Web

I found the articles regarding accessibility on the web to be rather interesting, it never occurred to me that people with disabilities may have difficulty when browsing the web.

I took a look at some of the accessibility features on my iPhone. The accessibility features are categorized into 4 sections — vision, physical and motor, hearing, and general. I think it is great that Apple has features geared towards making their devices easier to use for people who have disabilities. Apple includes features that reduce animations, magnify/zoom in on text to make it easier to read, and audibly read text to the user. Users can also control the device using their voice, enable subtitles, and utilize features that allow them to adjust the contrast of visuals on-screen.

While I didn’t find any features that I felt would benefit me and the way that I view websites online, I can see the benefit that these features would have for their respective audiences.

My Digital Footprint

I think that the information on digital footprints is helpful in order to maintain a good impression on future employers in regards to one’s online presence by making a distinction between a personal and profession social media account. When researching my own digital footprint, the top result on Google was this ePortfolio blog. Other results included inactive social media accounts, (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, etc.) an obituary for my deceased great grandmother, a mention on my high school’s blog, and various websites that I created in middle school.

My Digital Security

The apps on my smartphone have access to the following features:

• Location (only when in-use or if asked first)
• Contacts
• Photos
• Bluetooth
• Camera

I wasn’t surprised by the features that the apps on my smartphone had permission to access. It’s a given that messaging apps will have access to contacts, social media apps will have access to the camera and photos, and many apps have location access in order to recommend nearby restaurants, find out weather information, show news based on location, creating a map of your location, etc.

I don’t really think too much about the security of my data on my iPhone as I don’t believe there are many sketchy apps allowed on the App Store that would do something malicious with my data. I still think it is important to know about app permissions and how to disable anything that you feel uncomfortable with.

Learning from 23 Things…

Through blogging for 23ThingsEdUni, I hope to learn more about what benefits may be associated with blogging. I believe that it is important to be able to properly make use of the digital tools that we have access to online, and I am looking forward to completing the 23 Things List.

ODU Social Media Guidelines?

As I do not own a social media account that is affiliated with ODU, I wasn’t aware of the university’s social media guidelines. ODU outlines eight specific areas to examine before creating a social media page that is affiliated with the university. These areas include: Primary goals, Audiences, Team, Current Conversation, Name & Design, Content, Measuring Success, and Evaluation. I think that ODU does a good job at outlining how to go about creating a successful social media page geared towards a university campus community.

I do think that it is unfortunate that officially recognized social media pages are not allowed to have custom logos or icons. Social media pages that are officially recognized by the university are required to use the official icon provided by the University’s Marketing & Communications team. I understand that the university does not want to be held responsible for any content that goes against their policies or infringes on the copyright of others. I feel that these restrictions may make the social media page feel drab, but it can also give the official pages a sense of uniformity and look more professional overall.